Warm Up Before You Tee Off

It may be one of the fastest growing sports, but most people still don't treat it as such.

A sport, that is.

Australian researchers spied on 1,040 golfers and found that about half of them began play without any kind of pre-game warm up. Those who did warm up did so by taking a few practice swings at the tee.

However, fewer than three percent warmed up adequately to help prevent injury and improve performance.

Most experts recommend a 10- to 15-minute warm-up for most amateur golfers.

Dr. Andrea J. Fradkin and her colleagues at the Sports Injury Prevention Research Unit at Deakin University in Victoria, Australia, are currently testing the effectiveness of a warm-up conditioning programs, which can be done at home, as well as a shorter warm-up for the course.

Source: British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2001; 35, 125-127.

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